Vegan Chickpea “Tuna” Salad

September 4, 2017

A few weeks ago, I was asked to feed some friends at a small event. The challenge? The food would need to be vegan. And of course, it had to be GOOD. Now trust me, things CAN be vegan and good. I have eaten plenty of vegan treats in my day that have been amazing. But party food always puts the pressure on. You have to cater to an array of likes and dislikes, you don’t know exactly who will be coming. And what you think will be the best thing on the menu never is. So needless to say, it was a challenge.

And wouldn’t you know, the recipe I thought would just be so-so, ended up being one that I got the most compliments on, that is aside from the “Reese” Cups I made. I mean, that’s just a given.

I have had several different ‘mock’ tuna salads and have actually loved most of them. I have had them both with a walnut base and a chickpea base. The chickpeas have a better texture in my mind so that’s what I decided to go with. It felt safer to me. And I thought a little chickpea salad on top of crackers would be an easy finger food for guests to grab without too much mess.

Now, before I go any further, I have to say something. A sort of confession, if you will. I like mayo. Yep. I said it. There. I like it. I like it on my sandwiches, in my salads such as this, etc. And for a looooong time, I was constantly finding substitutes for mayo since I had decided it was on the bad food list. There was even a point I said I didn’t like it to avoid eating something that contained it. Ugggghh. What was my problem?! My problem was that I was living in a warped mindset of healthy and unhealthy foods, black and white, right or wrong. And my relationship with food became so warped that I was willing to insist I didn’t like a food in order to avoid having to eat it.

THAT is not okay. But that’s exactly what was happening.

But when rules went out the door, I was allowed to like and enjoy the foods I swore off. Freedom. Food freedom. Thank goodness for it!

So back to this recipe. As I mentioned, it is vegan. And so I used a vegan mayonnaise. And it still tasted mighty fine to me. But you can use any mayo at all in the recipe. All I ask is that you use it! This salad is great as a sandwich, on crackers, toast or just by itself! I even dipped plantain chips in it recently and loved that as well. And if you find yourself in need of a good party platter that will work for everyone in the room, whip this up, grab some crackers, and you are set!

Vegan Chickpea "Tuna" Salad

2017-09-05 02:00:50

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Prep Time

15 min

Total Time

20 min

Prep Time

15 min

Total Time

20 min

Ingredients

2 cans chickpeas, rinsed and drained

1/4 c vegan mayonnaise (regular mayo will work as well)

4 celery stalks, diced

1/4 c red onion, diced small

1 tsp capers

Juice of 1/2 lemon

2-3 T fresh chopped dill

Sea salt and cracked pepper to taste

Instructions

In a medium bowl, using a potato masher or other similar tool, mash chickpeas well until most are completely mashed.

Add in all other ingredients and stir well to combine. Adjust seasoning as desired.